APOLITICAL 12/02/24 By Dr. Michael Shank and US Congressman Steve Cohen As President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team prepares executive orders to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, scientists confirm that 2024 is not only the hottest year on record but the first year to exceed the Paris agreement threshold, a […]
CITYCHANGERS 09/19/24 By Dr. Michael Shank This article was written for CityChangers.org by Dr. Michael Shank, Director of Engagement with the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance. In it, he argues that it’s high time that creatives be brought in as a core component of municipal departments – rather than contracting out as […]
LINKEDIN 09/17/24 MEDIUM 09/17/24 By Dr. Michael Shank The shift to a more sustainable food system got a significant boost in Europe recently. In a first for the European Union, a French start-up filed the industry’s first application in July for market access for lab-grown foie gras. And the UK became […]
LINKEDIN 08/16/24 APOLITICAL 08/21/24 By Michael Shank As governments across Europe finally start tackling the outsized carbon footprint associated with the built environment, responsible for roughly 40 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions, there’s something often overlooked that could aid or obstruct this decarbonization effort. It’s public perception. Currently, […]
APOLITICAL 08/19/24 By Michael Shank The problem: When governments engage youth in climate and environmental programming, it’s often at the peripheries of key decision-making processes. Youth are not given real power in the process. Why it matters: Youth are not only inheriting this warming world, but they’ve got new and […]
FAST COMPANY 08/06/24 By Michael Shank The city built public and political will for its work to develop local energy storage—and its success can be an example for other cities looking to do the same thing. Fossil fuel enthusiasts, when defending their carbon emitting industry, love saying that the wind […]
APOLITICAL 07/07/24 By Michael Shank This article is written by Dr Michael Shank, Director of Engagement at the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance. The problem: There’s concern that a global backlash against climate policies is in full swing and that running on climate isn’t good for political campaigns. Why it matters: […]
THE HILL 07/08/24 By Michael Shank and Eve Karoubi In a critical election year for both the United States and Europe, climate policies are conspicuously absent from campaigns on both sides of the Atlantic. This omission is particularly stark considering the undeniable and mounting evidence of climate change’s impacts, and […]
CITYCHANGERS 07/04/24 By Michael Shank This article was written for CityChangers.org by Dr. Michael Shank, adjunct faculty at New York University and George Mason University. In it, he argues that cities stuck in the business-as-usual rut can hand the reins to a politically- and eco-minded youth – a generation thirsty […]
POLITICO 06/13/24 By Michael Shank Incumbent leaders have largely failed to tackle key socioeconomic issues like the rising cost of housing. All across Europe and the U.S., new right parties are rising to power, threatening progress on many social and environmental issues, including critical climate action. The recent EU parliamentary […]